When Paris was attacked in 2015, Facebook immediately launched the Safety Check tool that prompted users in the affected area to confirm their safety. Facebook users could share their safety status with their Facebook friends using the tool. After this incident, the demand for the development of intuitive mobile apps that serve as a lifesaver skyrocketed.
There are approximately 300,000 mobile medical apps currently in app stores and this is on the rise, with an expected 600,000 apps by 2025. The worldwide automated Covid-19 exposure detection and contact tracing that launched this year on Android and IOS has resulted in an estimated decrease of potential transmissions by 80%.
We’ve compiled a list of some lifesaving apps, as well as automated IOS and Android tech, which might be a slightly more necessary use of your storage space.
Medical ID (IOS/Android)
A simple yet lifesaving addition to smartphones was the development of the personalised Medical ID. This enables IOS and Android users to receive immediate help in an emergency. You can access a Medical ID from a smartphone’s Emergency Call screen. People can identify individuals and refer to their medical record, which has information entered and stored on their smartphone. A pre-installed health app lets you create your Medical ID. When activated, the ID will pop up with vital information such as: full name; emergency contact; allergies; and medication.
Earthquake Detection (Android)
Android is becoming a worldwide earthquake detector. With the first steps being rolled out this month, the accelerometer in your Android phone (the nifty part that senses if you’ve rotated it or not) will become one data point for an entire algorithm designed to detect earthquakes.
Eventually, this system will automatically send warnings to people who could be impacted by using the staggering numbers of Android phones around the world and a clever use of big data.
Google is rolling out the system in small stages to minimise false positives and tune the system but, once it has more confidence in the accuracy of the system, Google will begin actively sending out earthquake warnings to people who live in areas where there are no seismometer warning systems.
What3Words (IOS/Android)
What3Words is a location services app that uses three words to accurately pinpoint your location. So far, the app is being used by Mongolia for its postal service and Lonely Planet's entire guide for the country uses three word addresses. Emergency services have also encouraged everyone to download the app, which could potentially save your life if you are lost in a rural area and unable to describe your location.
The app’s developers divided the world into 57 trillion squares, each measuring 3 square metres and each having an individual assigned three word address. For example, the door of 10 Downing Street in London is slurs.this.shark, while the area across the road for the press is stage.pushy.nuns.
We’re currently writing this from our offices in bottom.region.smug.
Share the Meal (IOS/Android)
Although this app isn’t made to help the actual user, it is one of the key livesaving app. Started in 2015, the app’s simple interface allows users to make donations through the United Nations World Food Program to feed children and families who suffer from hunger.
Each year, the World Food Program reaches more than 86 million people with food assistance in around 83 countries. Donations from the ShareTheMeal app support various lifesaving operations ranging from school food programmes to providing food assistance in emergencies. They are 100% voluntarily funded, so every donation counts.
British Red Cross First Aid (IOS/Android)
An ad-free first aid app, this is a great resource if you’re looking to learn about basic first aid, disaster awareness, or need immediate emergency aid. It provides users with basic first aid lessons for a variety of topics, accompanied by videos and diagrams. This life-saving app also contains an emergency tab that provides condensed, easy-to-follow instructions, as well as a big red button for calling local emergency services.
All the information you require can be found on the app itself, which means no internet connection is needed for fast and easy accessibility. The app hosts videos, interactive quizzes and simple, step-by-step guides. It’s never been easier to learn first aid.
Baby and Child First Aid (IOS/Android)
And for the new parents, this free app provides simple skills to help a baby or child in a first aid emergency. It is packed with useful tips, video clips and first aid quizzes. There is also a handy section to record your child's medication needs and any allergies.
Again, the information you need is all hosted on the app itself with no internet connection needed, making it fast and easy to access.
NHS Give Blood App (IOS/Android)
Akin to the American app Blood Donor (also available on IOS and Android), the free NHS Give Blood app allows you to book appointments and manage your details on your Android or Apple iPhone device.
More than 160,000 users make use of the app each month to book appointments or check their eligibility to donate. Once you’re set up, you have access the latest appointment availability and will also be alerted if your blood type is particularly low. This ensures that you know when your blood type is in demand and be able to plan appointments around this - potentially saving a life.
Conclusion:
These are only seven of some of the most helpful lifesaving apps that have been developed. Most of us will always have a smartphone to hand, they have slowly started becoming a part of our day-to-day life, and now some apps can save our day-to-day life.
As with Apple’s collaboration on exposure tracing and other Android features such as car crash detection, it shows that there are ways smartphones could be used for something more important than social scrolling.
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What3words: The app that can save your life - BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-49319760
Top 5 life-saving apps – JustApplications https://www.justapplications.co.uk/top-5-life-saving-apps/
Share the Meal – Sustainable Life https://www.sustainablelife.tips/product/329_ShareTheMeal
First aid at your fingertips – British Red Cross https://www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid/first-aid-apps
The NHS Give Blood App – NHS https://www.blood.co.uk/the-donation-process/the-nhs-give-blood-app/
Android is becoming a worldwide earthquake detection network – The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21362370/android-earthquake-detection-seismometer-epicenter-shakealert-google
Emergency services locator app – oatdreams https://oatdreams.dk/blog/c51c47-emergency-services-locator-app
10 Apps That Could Save a Life – tom’s guide https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-emergency-apps,review-2338.html
